GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney held a press conference in response to the attacks in Libya and Egypt on Wednesday morning, continuing to criticize the Obama administration's response to the tragedy and President Obama's foreign policy.
Romney took issue with a statement put out by the U.S. embassy in Cairo condemning an anti-Muslim video backed by extremist Florida pastor Terry Jones.
"The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims -- as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions," read the statement.
"The embassy in Cairo put out a statement after their grounds had been breached, protesters were inside the grounds," said Romney at his press conference. "They reiterated that statement after the breach. I think it's a -- a terrible course for America to stand in apology for our values. That instead, when our grounds are being attacked, and being breached, that the first response to the United States must be outrage at the breach of the sovereignty of our nation. And apology for America's values is never the right course."
The embassy's statement, however, came before the protests -- not after, as Romney claimed. The embassy did subsequently tweet that it stood by its condemnation of the video, but it also condemned the attacks.
When reporters pointed out that the White House disavowed the Cairo embassy's statement, Romney said he agreed with that response. He still, however, said that the embassy was part of Obama's administration, and therefore the president was ultimately responsible.
"It's their administration," said Romney. "Their administration spoke. The president takes responsibility not just for the words that come his mouth but also from the words of his ambassador's, from his administration, from his embassies, from his State Department. They clearly sent mixed messages to the world, and the statement that came from the administration, and the embassy is the administration."
Romney also criticized Obama for showing a "lack of clarity" on foreign policy -- a charge that has been frequently leveled at Romney himself.
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